At a time when the Serie is barely offering playing time to its own jewels, Europe is no longer trembling. At just 18 years old, Luca Reggiani set foot on the European pitch as a starter with Borussia Dortmund, in the Champions League, against Atalanta. Yes, holder. While Serie A hesitates, procrastinates, overprotects its young talents to the point of suffocating them, the European behemoths are not afraid. Dortmund launched a central defender born in 2008 onto the biggest continental stage… and knew how to control Atalanta with almost cruel aplomb in the first leg. The symbol is powerful, almost painful for Italian football. Because Reggiani is not a talent from elsewhere. Born in Modena, trained in a local club in Emilia-Romagna, then shaped by Sassuolo, it is in the black and yellow of Germany that he blossoms today, not in Serie A. The image of an Italian teenager dominating a European poster while Italian clubs preach patience resonates like a new warning. Just a few days after his debut in the Bundesliga against Mainz, he was propelled onto the biggest stage, without complexes, in a team which did not hesitate to dominate an Italian representative.
The symbol is violent. While clubs hesitate, calculate and protect excessively, the big European teams trust, expose, take responsibility, and win. His story, however, had all the makings of a destiny written in blue ink. 1m90 central defender, captain of the Italian U16s, Luca Reggiani embodies the modern prototype of Dean Huijsen, thus combining power, reading of the game, recovery qualities and, a detail that does not deceive, goalscoring instinct. Ten goals last season, an extremely rare figure for a defender of his age. But at 16, Germany came knocking. Dortmund quickly took action, legally, by paying only part of the training compensation. Italy does not just watch one of its jewels leave, almost resigned. In the Bundesliga, he started without trembling. In the Champions League, he confirms. Where some would have waited years to “not skip the steps”, the German club prepared him, strengthened him, made him responsible. And this is how a young Italian, trained in the Boot, progresses more quickly abroad than at home and dreams of playing his first Klassiker against Bayern, while Dortmund, eliminated after a crazy return match in Bergamo, may regret not having included Reggiani in his eleven on Wednesday.
A defender with an atypical profile
The market was not indifferent to his talent. Juventus and AS Roma had surveyed the field. Abroad, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Red Bull Salzburg had expressed concrete interest. But Dortmund was the fastest, the most convincing, also relying on a small Italian colony already established at the club, with Filippo Mané and Samuele Inácio. The cruelest, perhaps, lies in the opponent of this European evening. Atalanta, an Italian training model and often cited as a virtuous exception, was unable to prevent the German demonstration. By starting Reggiani from the outset, the BVB assumes a clear, almost provocative strategy, believing in the value of Azzurri talents more than their own clubs. Italy, for its part, is struggling to rebuild a competitive identity, looking for leaders, and complaining about the lack of generational continuity… while the greats of Europe are establishing these same Italian nuggets in C1. Luca Reggiani despite himself becomes the symbol of a system which exports its promises even before having exploited them.
While Italy is torn apart over the need to rejuvenate its workforce, Germany is taking action. The Ruhr club patiently integrated Reggiani, strengthened him physically, exposed him gradually… before fielding him in the Bundesliga then in the Champions League (4 appearances). Not in the National Cup, nor in a match without stakes, but in a high-tension European play-off. And then there is the human aspect. Asked about his models, Luca Reggaiani cites Giorgio Scalvini, a name that surprises by its generational proximity. Barely five years apart, and already an idol of the young Dea defender. His father gave him the number 42 Atalanta jersey for Christmas. And a few weeks later, it was against Scalvini’s club that he discovered the Champions League. There is something predestined, almost romantic, in this trajectory. But behind the emotion, a reality emerges. When a club like Dortmund gives the keys to an 18-year-old defender in C1, it sends a strong signal to Italian football. “I told him to enjoy it and that it was something special. It was a great start, he played really well. I am delighted to see young players of such quality rewarded”said Niko Kovač after the match against Mainz.
While the controversy surrounding his transfer from Sassuolo to the Germans persists (as does that concerning Samuele Inacio at Atalanta), Borussia Dortmund are determined to reward the player’s progress with a significant new contract. Rumors of an imminent extension for the young Italian international are becoming more and more insistent, Dortmund having already offered him an extension accompanied by a contractual adjustment, until 2030. Unless unforeseen, Reggiani should sign his new long-term commitment with BVB in the coming hours. Meanwhile, Luca Reggiani advances quietly, with the quiet assurance of the greats. And Italy looks at him, divided between pride and regret. Borussia Dortmund, by starting him, inflicted a symbolic slap on the Italian system, because the message is clear. If you don’t believe in your talents enough, others will. And they will make them shine. This February for Schwarz-Gelben number 49 may only mark the beginning of a great career, but it already sounds like a warning. Italy has no shortage of talent. But she sorely lacks, sometimes, the courage to throw them.
